‘It is a very big conundrum – who is going to be farming our land in 20 years' time?'
Around half of cattle farms have an off-farm income, according to the newly launched National Farm Survey, while 36pc of all farm households are in receipt of a pension – highlighting the ageing farming population and the challenge of generational renewal
There are lots of farms where there won't be a successor, according to Teagasc director Frank O'Mara, as generational renewal is a 'very challenging' issue.
Speaking at the National Farm Survey launch yesterday, he said we need to look and see if there are other pathways into farming – not just leasing the farm – for current non-landowners. 'But it is a very big conundrum: who is going to be farming our land in 20 years' time?'
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Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘It is a very big conundrum – who is going to be farming our land in 20 years' time?'
Around half of cattle farms have an off-farm income, according to the newly launched National Farm Survey, while 36pc of all farm households are in receipt of a pension – highlighting the ageing farming population and the challenge of generational renewal There are lots of farms where there won't be a successor, according to Teagasc director Frank O'Mara, as generational renewal is a 'very challenging' issue. Speaking at the National Farm Survey launch yesterday, he said we need to look and see if there are other pathways into farming – not just leasing the farm – for current non-landowners. 'But it is a very big conundrum: who is going to be farming our land in 20 years' time?'
Agriland
14 hours ago
- Agriland
Average family income on cattle-rearing farms revealed
In 2024, the output value on cattle-rearing farms increased due to higher cattle prices, the latest National Farm Survey (NFS) from economists at Teagasc has revealed. The results of the survey were released today (June 23), with approximately 15,675 cattle rearing farms represented in the survey. According to the NFS, the average family farm income (FFI) on cattle rearing farms was €13,547, up 93% year-on-year. The survey found that suckler cow production is the dominant enterprise on these farms. The table below outlines the different components in FFI on cattle rearing farms in 2024: Source: Teagasc National Farm Survey Teagasc believes that lower production costs contributed to the improved economic performance on these farms. Participation in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP), the National Beef Welfare Scheme (NBWS), and Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) also helped to underpin the improvement in incomes. The table below outlines the average indicators on cattle rearing farms in 2024: Source: Teagasc National Farm Survey On individual cost items, expenditure on fertiliser declined by 30% to €2,352 on average. The data indicates that there has been some increase in usage on a per hectare basis. The NFS found that spending on bulky feed declined, while expenditure on concentrates at €4,131 remained relatively stable compared to 2023. Contracting expenditure increased by 9% to €4,466 on average, livestock and veterinary costs remained generally stable at €2,368, while other costs increased by 7% to €1,827. According to the survey, overhead costs on the average cattle-rearing farm fell in 2024 to €18,937. The table below outlines the distribution in cattle-rearing FFI between 2022 and 2024. Source: Teagasc National Farm Survey Teagasc noted that on 48% of cattle-rearing farms, the holder also worked off-farm in 2024. Cattle other Elsewhere, there were approximately 35,823 'cattle other' farms represented in the survey in 2024, with an average income of €18,101. This represents a 32% increase on the 2023 level. Cattle finishing is the dominant enterprise on these farms. Teagasc found that the average output value per cattle other farm was relatively unchanged in 2024 at €61,387, due to a reduction in production value. The table below outlines the different components in FFI on 'cattle other' farms in 2024: Source: Teagasc National Farm Survey The NFS found that the proportion of farms reporting an FFI below €5,000 decreased to 20%, down 21 percentage points compared to 2023. The proportion of 'cattle other' farms with an FFI of between €5,000 and €10,000 increased by 11 percentage points to 25%. Meanwhile, farms reporting an FFI of between €10,000 and €20,000 increased from 19% to 25% year-on-year, and the proportion reporting income in the €20,000 to €50,000 category increased to 23% in 2024. There was a four percentage point increase in the proportion of 'cattle other' farms earning more than €50,000, at 8%, on average in 2024. As in other farm systems in 2024, total costs declined on cattle other farms compared to 2023, with a reduction in both direct and overhead costs. On average, production costs declined by 8%, and overhead costs declined by 14%. Spending on fertiliser declined by 24% to €3,208 on average, while nitrogen usage was down compared to 2023. Contracting related costs increased by 14% year-on-year to €4,825, on average. Expenditure relating to livestock and veterinary averaged €2,384, down slightly on the 2023 level. The table below outlines the concentrate feed use per livestock unit on 'cattle other' farms in 2024: Source: Teagasc National Farm Survey The average utilised agricultural area on 'cattle other' farms in 2024 was 32ha. Livestock numbers were also down, by 5%, while the gross margin per hectare increased by 6% in 2024 to €1,193. In terms of the overall population of 'cattle other' farms, approximately 3%of farms fall into the greater than 100ha size category, with 12% in the 50-100ha bracket, and a further 19% in the 30-50ha category. According to Teagasc, about 21% of 'cattle other' farms were in the 20-30ha category, with the remaining 44% comprising farms of less than 20ha. Teagasc noted that 56% of 'cattle other' farm holders also worked off farm in 2024.
Agriland
14 hours ago
- Agriland
Dairy farm incomes more than doubled in 2024
Dairy farm incomes more than doubled in 2024, rising by 113% to an average of €108,189, a new report has revealed. According to Teagasc's National Farm Survey, the recovery in dairy incomes in 2024 was driven by a strong recovery in milk prices and favourable grazing conditions from mid-year onwards, which boosted production later in the year. Teagasc said: 'In addition, input costs, such as feed and fertiliser, eased slightly relative to 2023, as did overhead costs. 'The strength of the income recovery is a reminder that Irish dairy farm incomes are highly sensitive to milk price movements in successive years, a factor over which dairy farmers have no control.' The National Farm Survey represents around 88,000 farms in Ireland, according to Teagasc. There were 15,131 dairy farms represented in the survey in 2024. Teagasc said that a farm is deemed viable if family farm income (FFI) can cover family labour and provide a 5% return on non-land assets. A large decrease in the proportion of dairy farms reporting an average FFI below €30,000 is apparent, dropping from 38% to 13% year-on-year. The proportion of farms in the highest income category rose from 16% in 2023 to 46% in 2024. In 2024, 12% of dairy farms reported an average FFI of between €30,000 and €50,000, with a further 13% earning between €50,000 and €70,000 and 16% reporting an average of between €70,000 and €100,000. National Farm Survey results Despite a decline in milk production in quarter one of 2024, compared to 2023, favourable weather conditions later in the year facilitated a recovery in production in quarter four, the Teagasc report outlines. As a result, overall, milk production in Ireland declined only marginally by 0.4% in 2024 compared to 2023. Gross output in 2024 typically increased by 15% relative to 2023 on dairy farms. This was due to the higher milk price, with a marginal decline in volume. On a per hectare basis, average milk production decreased by 4% year-on-year to 11,210L. Despite this, the improved milk price in 2024 resulted in an increase in gross output per hectare of 15% to €5,967 on average. On a per hectare basis, direct costs decreased by 7% on average to €2,318. Overall, this resulted in the average dairy gross margin per hectare increasing by 34% to €3,649 in 2024. Dairy farm inputs On the average dairy farm, total production costs declined by 4% year-on-year, with a reduction in both direct and overhead costs. There was a significant decline in feed and fertiliser prices in 2024. Purchased concentrate expenditure typically totalled €61,517 in 2024, a 5% decrease relative to 2023. Expenditure on purchased bulky feed increased by 21% (to €8,861) on average in 2024, due to unfavourable weather conditions at times and possibly also to boost yields given the rising milk price over the course of the year. Fertiliser expenditure on dairy farms decreased by 29% in 2024 to €17,820, on average. The volume of fertiliser use increased in 2024, Teagasc data shows, up 7% on average following a number of successive declines in preceding years. On average, machinery hire – contracting – expenditure increased by 9% in 2024 to €19,938, with other livestock and veterinary costs remaining relatively unchanged at €17,509 following previous annual increases. Overhead costs decreased by 5% on the average dairy farm in 2024, driven by lower building depreciation (down 23% to €11,403) and machinery depreciation (down 18% to €17,429). Machinery operating costs remained relatively stable at €13,804. Costs relating to hired labour increased, up 4% to €10,916. There was also an increase in spending relating to land rental, with expenditure up 13% to €11,954, on average in 2024. Almost eight in ten dairy farmers are renting in some land and that proportion has stabilised in recent years. Milk quota removal A decade has passed since the abolition of the EU milk quota system in April 2015 and in that time, the Irish dairy sector has undergone substantial change, Teagasc's report said. Data from Teagasc and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that while the number of dairy farms increased in the run up to the removal of the milk quota system, the number of dairy farms has actually declined slightly since then. The dairy cow population increased from 1.13 million in 2014 to 1.51 in 2023, an increase of 33%. However, recently there has been a slight decline, with the dairy cow population falling to 1.48 million in 2024. 'The number of dairy farms reflects the net change resulting from new entrants to the dairy sector, farms exiting the dairy sector and dairy farm consolidation,' Teagasc said. Compared to 2014, milk production in 2022 had increased by 56%. Teagasc said that data shows farm incomes have become 'increasingly volatile' over the last number of years. 'The volatility in milk prices over the last decade is very pronounced, with the annual average milk price in 2022 more than double the average annual milk price in 2016.'
